Today on my lunch hour I made jam. Everything had pretty much already been prepped - raspberries frozen and thawed, blackberries already milled and more picked and cleaned and milled earlier this morning. I use Pomona Pectin because it gives me a lot of discretion about sugar.
It turned out SO. GOOD. I did about 75% blackberries and 25% raspberries. Most had been frozen but I did pick another cup or so this morning of blackberries fresh to top it off. I used a fruit:sugar ratio of 5.5:1 which is not low-sugar but it's much lower sugar than usual recipes. I'll be excited to see how the seediness is or isn't - I don't mind some seeds especially raspberry, but these blackberries are filled with big, hard seeds that aren't fun. The mill didn't remove all the seeds but it reduced it, and then I didn't mill the raspberries at all.
I got just a bit of overflow that I then promptly ate on toast, and then rest was four pints. I'll make another batch on Wednesday, when I venture out to get some organic sugar on sale. I have another gallon and a pint of blackberries to heat and mill and another small bag of raspberries to add. So looking forward to it. Definitely seems like the best jam I've made in a while. It's hard when it's low-sugar - things change. Fruit floats. It doesn't last as long. It's of course much less sweet.
And now for dinner I'm cooking savory zucchini pancakes. I didn't get green onions but I used a shallot I had on hand and I think it is good, and plenty of basil and oregano. I need to figure out a topping I like - I'm currently using sriracha and it's not quite right. I used to put on sour cream and sriracha, like I do with okonomiyaki (cabbage pancakes), but the zucchini pancakes have cheese in them so I don't also need sour cream. I should probably run nutritional analysis on them because they feel pretty healthy except for the cheese. Mostly zucchini and eggs. This can definitely go into the rotation, especially with fresh zucchini (I like how it has an almost firm texture).
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tonight I made zucchini with a poblano pepper, potatoes, and ground turkey, and ate it with sauerkraut. Turned out pretty good. For breakfast I'd had the zucchini pancakes, and for lunch the last of the tofu with green beans & snap peas. Not a bad dining day.
And now, it's Tuesday evening and the air quality is still so bad that I'm huddled up with air purifiers and not going outside unless absolutely mandatory and then in a mask. I'm slowly heating blackberries from the freezer and what I'd just picked (and didn't eat - I did gobble up a bunch) and I'll mill them so they're ready to make jam tomorrow when I pick up sugar. I also have a dozen and a half peppers drying, and I'll chop them up and freeze them. I'll be very glad to have them all come winter.
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Looking at a grocery store flyer where I shop from time to time. Pears are $2.49/pound. I have probably hundreds of pounds in my tree waiting to be harvested and eaten and processed (canned and dehydrated). Organic tomatoes are $3.99/pound - I have about 8 pounds waiting and more ripening every day. Cucumbers $2.99/pound - I've already got probably five pounds in my fridge and I'll be getting more every day. Friend just said she'd like to try them fermented so I'll make jars for her as well.
Well, next jar. Friend from Grad School came over for pickles - her kids love them. I did tell her that they're fermented but she just really didn't understand. I gave up and said to just warn her kids they are different or they'll be upset they're not the vinegary-sugary kind they love. They're so healthy though. So then I started another jar. I also gave her all my zucchini so I need to let some grow; this weekend I want to make zucchini lasagna. I'm still eating zucchini multiple times a day - this morning was zucchini pancakes, then zucchini with rice and beans (which I actually threw away), and then for dinner leftover potatoes and zucchini and ground turkey. And had the leftover cucumbers after I made another quart of pickles. For some reason I'm just not enjoying them as much as I did last year, but hopefully that changes. They just seem kind of dry. But at least they're not bitter.
I peeled and chopped a bunch of pears then tossed the 1/4 full gallon ziploc in the freezer. I'll keep adding, then when full make juice probably to use for canning.
The air quality has been so bad, in the unhealthy range. I wandered out today to the library and store, for the first time in days, and I was astounded that nobody else was masked up. It's really bad, this smoke. I mask up to go outside and limit it as much as possible, but there's also a heat advisory so I for sure have to go out and water.
Had a weird thing the other day. I was thinking about just holding off on watering the front yard, and then I couldn't get a tree out of my head. I planted a madrone because I think they're the coolest with that reddish hue - I always have to touch them when I see them, that smoothness is really neat. They can be fussy to establish, so I gathered soil from underneath a madrone where I walk the dog each week and added that, and I've been careful not to water it much. But the problem is that i planted it in like February so it didnt' establish well before dry season. I dont' want to rot it though. So I was going to hold off but it's like this tree was telepathic, telling me that it needed water. So I did obediently go out and water the tree and some other things even though they weren't talking to me but I could see other signs. Look, I've definitely had conversations with trees but always when I'm right with them, usually touching them. But this was for sure a first, for this madrone to beckon me outside to tend to it. Wild.
Here's a picture of one. See what I mean, how cool they are?
I was an idiot and planted it too close to an oak tree, but honestly I think they will be ok, they'll grow into each other, like in the forest.
I want some professional help with my yard this winter, it just needs some oomph.
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